National

Without Action, Government Will Shut Down At Month's End

5:44am September 13, 2013

by Tamara Keith

The four top congressional leaders held a closed-door meeting Thursday to assess where they stand on the coming government funding and debt-ceiling deadlines. As has become typical in recent years, some conservative House Republicans appear to be the stumbling block with their insistence that any deal repeal or defund Obamacare.

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The headquarters of Lehman Brothers in Times Square in 2008, the year the financial services firm filed for bankruptcy.

5 Years After Financial Crisis, Are Big Banks Still A Threat?

11:30am September 12, 2013

by Jim Zarroli

It's been five years since Lehman Brothers collapsed and touched off a banking crisis that is still being felt by the global economy. Today, the banking industry is a lot stronger than it was, but some critics say efforts to reform banking regulations have fallen short of their potential.

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For Native Americans, Mental Health Budget Cuts Hit Hard

9:49am September 12, 2013

by Laurel G. Morales

Suicide rates among Native Americans are already four times the national average. And with recent cuts in federal funding for mental health services across the country, suicide prevention programs may lose ground in the communities that need them most.

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Missouri Tax Posturing May Influence Other States

5:50am September 12, 2013

by Jennifer Davidson

State lawmakers failed to override the governor's veto of a controversial measure that would have lowered state income taxes. Although Republicans had supermajorities in the House and Senate, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon was able to rally school districts, which feared their budgets would suffer from the decline in general revenue.

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Jamesport has the largest Amish community in Missouri, and horse-pulled buggies are often parked alongside cars. Horse owners in the state are divided over whether to allow horses to be killed for meat in the U.S.

National

Pets Or Livestock? A Moral Divide Over Horse Slaughter

7:30pm September 11, 2013

by Frank Morris

Horse slaughter is banned in the U.S., but thousands of American horses are shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter every year. Investors argue restarting the practice in the U.S. would be better for business and offer a more humane end for horses that are neglected under the current model.

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Conservatives Use Budget Deadline To Revive Obamacare Debate

7:03pm September 11, 2013

by Tamara Keith

With the pause button pushed on the congressional debate over Syria, the House is turning its attention back to the budget. The House was supposed to act this week to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, and Republican leaders had hoped to avoid drama. But drama is brewing.

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Security experts say the U.S. is ill-prepared to respond to cyberthreats. A new high school curriculum in Alabama aims to attract more young people to the field.

Army Looks To Schools To Find The Next Cyberwarriors

6:50pm September 11, 2013

by Dan Carsen

Security experts say the U.S. has a dearth of professionals qualified to take on cyberthreats like attacks on power grids or defense systems. A school district in Alabama and the U.S. Army Cyber Command have teamed up to help prepare a new generation for cyberwarfare careers.

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According to Barton Gellman, Edward Snowden (above) specifically asked journalists not to make all the documents he leaked available to the public.

National

Reporter Had To Decide If Snowden Leaks Were 'The Real Thing'

4:21pm September 11, 2013

Before whistle-blower Edward Snowden became a household name, he was an anonymous source. The Washington Post's Barton Gellman recounts how he began corresponding with Snowden and the process of reporting on the government's Internet data mining program.

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Lila Hillman is starting her first year as principal at Milwaukee Parkside School for the Arts in Wisconsin. Nearly one-fifth of the city's public schools have new principals this year.

School Districts Struggle To Get Principals To Stay Put

12:06pm September 11, 2013

by Erin Toner

As the school year begins, many principals are leading their schools for the first time. Keeping principals is a problem in many schools, and high-poverty, urban districts often have particularly high rates of turnover. Some experts say that revolving door can hurt student achievement.

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Diana Nyad's Accomplishment Makes America's Cup Look All Wet

7:54am September 11, 2013

by Frank Deford

America's Cup yachts can gracefully skim above water at better than 40 mph, but Frank Deford says when he looks back at the seven seas in 2013 he'll remember 64-year-old Nyad "plowing, all by herself, freestyle, through 100 miles of surf from Havana to Key West."

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